Tillamook State Forest

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Four massive fires between 1933 and 1951 turned the forest into a giant toothpick farm.

You wouldn't know it today. Trees are greening. Birds are chirping. Mountain bikers are biffing.

Two trails make a demanding loop through part of the forest that turned to charcoal in 1939. The Nels Rogers Trail and the Gravelle Brothers Trail climb hard and drop fast. They tease you with long sections of smooth, fast tread, then suddenly taunt you with squirmy roots and tall rocks.

Lots of signs and gates make the trail easy to follow. Little icons on the signs show who can use the trail (horses, hikers, bikers) and who can't (motorcyclists). Wide tread marks on some trails prove that a few motorcyclists missed school on the day the teacher talked about the universal "DON'T DO THAT" symbol, a red circle with a slash through it. You won't notice any trail damage after about 2.4 miles, though. You'll be too busy appreciating the fabulous new view where the forest used to be. Like a fine wine or hard scab, the rejuvenated forest had apparently aged enough to be hacked, uh, harvested.

But back to the trail. It's not so clearly marked when it reaches Devils Lake Fork Creek. The floods ripped out a streamside path that hooked up to a bridge. So follow the "Horse X" sign. It points to a low section of the creek where you can walk over the water on rocks, only possible in summer when the water level is low. In the winter or spring, you'll have to make a detour on service roads.

The next tricky part shows up at the six-mile mark. The trail passes a trailhead to University Falls (closed to bikes) -- on the left -- and a hitching post. Then it dead-ends at a wrecked stream, which proves you weren't paying attention. Back at the sign for University Falls, you should have gone right. The trail you wanted was hidden behind tall shrubs.

At about the 7.3-mile mark, the hiking trail ends at a long wooden bridge. Cross it to a dirt road, which is used heavily by motorcycles.

The good news is the road goes downhill fast. The bad news is that motorcycles go uphill fast.

About one-tenth of a mile later, you'll see another long bridge on the right. Cross it and stay on the road, which comes out at a big gravel pile. Follow the trail as it skirts the edge of the pile area, which returns you to the Oregon 6 entrance to Rogers Camp.

Ride the road back to your car, where you may find yourself feeling like the Tillamook State Forest, a little burnt.

Stan Shaw, a page designer at The Oregonian, writes about bike rides once a month.

DRIVE DIRECTIONS: Go west on U.S. 26, take Oregon 6 exit (to Tillamook); at crest of Coast Range, about 47 miles from Portland, look for sign on left pointing to entrance of Rogers Camp (not Lees Camp or Browns Camp), which is next to a huge gravel pile. Drive to the camp parking lot. A gravel road on the outhouse side of the parking lot will take you to the trailhead, which is on the right-hand side.

CAUTION: The trails that are open to mountain bikes also are open to hikers and equestrians. Please ride carefully around both, if not out of common courtesy or concern for safety, then because both groups help maintain the trail. Also, the trail crosses motorcycle paths. At those intersections, remember what mama said about crossing the street.